Defence: Public ignorance, the media, and cutbacks
Perhaps it is close to the time when we realise 50 years of underfunding of infrastructure, health and education in the UK means our country is approaching third-world status with no money to do anything about it.
Perhaps then we might accept that a submarine-launched independent nuclear detterent is a luxury we simply can't afford and a simpler and cheaper option (land-based missiles like N Korea????) would free up billions of public money to mend the country and stop the Corbinistas from promising things we can't presently afford.
We don't have an Empire any more (the Commonwealth really doesn't count) and we are hardly a world-leader in economic terms so maybe it is time to scale things down - apart from our conventional forces which have been cut far too harshly.
Perhaps then we might accept that a submarine-launched independent nuclear detterent is a luxury we simply can't afford and a simpler and cheaper option (land-based missiles like N Korea????) would free up billions of public money to mend the country and stop the Corbinistas from promising things we can't presently afford.
We don't have an Empire any more (the Commonwealth really doesn't count) and we are hardly a world-leader in economic terms so maybe it is time to scale things down - apart from our conventional forces which have been cut far too harshly.
Originally Posted by [email protected]
Perhaps it is close to the time when we realise 50 years of underfunding of infrastructure, health and education in the UK means our country is approaching third-world status with no money to do anything about it.
Perhaps then we might accept that a submarine-launched independent nuclear detterent is a luxury we simply can't afford and a simpler and cheaper option (land-based missiles like N Korea????) would free up billions of public money to mend the country and stop the Corbinistas from promising things we can't presently afford.
Perhaps then we might accept that a submarine-launched independent nuclear detterent is a luxury we simply can't afford and a simpler and cheaper option (land-based missiles like N Korea????) would free up billions of public money to mend the country and stop the Corbinistas from promising things we can't presently afford.
Good luck with proving that one. Assuming you can find an OTS system and assuming Tarquin and Jemima can be persuaded to have some nasty missiles next door making them a target.
Incidentally, even the headcases at CND think that the whole-life cost of the submarine deterrent will be about £100Bn. Spread that over 40 years and you get £2.5Bn a year - simple cash numbers. Bias it a bit towards procurement (lets say £5bn pa over the first ten years) and £1.5Bn pa when in service.
That £5Bn pa is only 10% of the debt interest payment we make every year. Compare that with the £12Bn pa we spend on foreign aid, or the £130Bn pa we spend just on NHS, or the £100Bn pa we spend on edumacation, or the £250Bn pa we spend on welfare (mainly pensions).
Trident (and the carriers/F35) and Typhoon/FSTA etc are all a drop in the ocean compared to where the real money goes in this country.
crab,
Are you depressed? Suffering from lack of self esteem or loss of confidence?
If you REALLY think that the UK is approaching third world status and that we have no money then if one of the above does not apply then you are simply deluded.
Have you ever been to a genuine third world nation? If you had then you would know what arrant nonsense you spout. If you have then you are being disingenuous, or one of the conditions at the start must surely apply.
The UK is the fifth richest economy on the planet, the ninth largest industrial nation and has an influence and affect globally. We are THE financial hub of the world and are a key member of every global 'club' that you care to mention in economic, military and intelligence terms.
I recently travelled from New York to London, flying on a wonderful A380 which was over 60% British built in content, arriving at Heathrow, where I entered through an auto passport scanner, ordered a Uber from the terminal, was picked up in 6 minutes, travelled to West London in 15 minutes, then went into Central London on the Tube, walked down Whitehall, sat in a wonderful office for half a day with views of the new and the historic, travelled back to West London on the tube, then drove out to Oxfordshire on the M40, stayed in Oxford, travelled back to London on the train from the new Oxford station and was in Marylebone in about half an hour, in the centre again in 15 minutes, leaving at the end of the day by Thameslink to my final destination.
If you think that you can do any of that in that manner in the third world then you ARE deluded.
You DO have a point in terms of lack of investment and underfunding though. In 1950 income tax was at 50%, the equivalent of Corporation tax was at the same rate and we as a nation managed to drag ourselves out of the ashes of World War 2 and at the same time introduce the NHS, the Welfare state and develop a nuclear bomb.
Constantly cutting the tax take has had its effect.
Are you depressed? Suffering from lack of self esteem or loss of confidence?
If you REALLY think that the UK is approaching third world status and that we have no money then if one of the above does not apply then you are simply deluded.
Have you ever been to a genuine third world nation? If you had then you would know what arrant nonsense you spout. If you have then you are being disingenuous, or one of the conditions at the start must surely apply.
The UK is the fifth richest economy on the planet, the ninth largest industrial nation and has an influence and affect globally. We are THE financial hub of the world and are a key member of every global 'club' that you care to mention in economic, military and intelligence terms.
I recently travelled from New York to London, flying on a wonderful A380 which was over 60% British built in content, arriving at Heathrow, where I entered through an auto passport scanner, ordered a Uber from the terminal, was picked up in 6 minutes, travelled to West London in 15 minutes, then went into Central London on the Tube, walked down Whitehall, sat in a wonderful office for half a day with views of the new and the historic, travelled back to West London on the tube, then drove out to Oxfordshire on the M40, stayed in Oxford, travelled back to London on the train from the new Oxford station and was in Marylebone in about half an hour, in the centre again in 15 minutes, leaving at the end of the day by Thameslink to my final destination.
If you think that you can do any of that in that manner in the third world then you ARE deluded.
You DO have a point in terms of lack of investment and underfunding though. In 1950 income tax was at 50%, the equivalent of Corporation tax was at the same rate and we as a nation managed to drag ourselves out of the ashes of World War 2 and at the same time introduce the NHS, the Welfare state and develop a nuclear bomb.
Constantly cutting the tax take has had its effect.
The very interesting and recommended book The Silent Deep: The Royal Navy Submarine Service Since 1945 by Peter Hennessy and James Jinks gives the annual cost of maintaining the deterrent as 1.5% of the annual benefits bill.
Meanwhile, there was an article in The Times on Tuesday about the current detachment of B-1s, B-2s and B-52s at Fairford, and the comments section certainly showed that ignorance among the general public is alive and kicking.
Meanwhile, there was an article in The Times on Tuesday about the current detachment of B-1s, B-2s and B-52s at Fairford, and the comments section certainly showed that ignorance among the general public is alive and kicking.
crab,
Are you depressed? Suffering from lack of self esteem or loss of confidence?
If you REALLY think that the UK is approaching third world status and that we have no money then if one of the above does not apply then you are simply deluded.
Have you ever been to a genuine third world nation? If you had then you would know what arrant nonsense you spout. If you have then you are being disingenuous, or one of the conditions at the start must surely apply.
The UK is the fifth richest economy on the planet, the ninth largest industrial nation and has an influence and affect globally. We are THE financial hub of the world and are a key member of every global 'club' that you care to mention in economic, military and intelligence terms.
I recently travelled from New York to London, flying on a wonderful A380 which was over 60% British built in content, arriving at Heathrow, where I entered through an auto passport scanner, ordered a Uber from the terminal, was picked up in 6 minutes, travelled to West London in 15 minutes, then went into Central London on the Tube, walked down Whitehall, sat in a wonderful office for half a day with views of the new and the historic, travelled back to West London on the tube, then drove out to Oxfordshire on the M40, stayed in Oxford, travelled back to London on the train from the new Oxford station and was in Marylebone in about half an hour, in the centre again in 15 minutes, leaving at the end of the day by Thameslink to my final destination.
If you think that you can do any of that in that manner in the third world then you ARE deluded.
You DO have a point in terms of lack of investment and underfunding though. In 1950 income tax was at 50%, the equivalent of Corporation tax was at the same rate and we as a nation managed to drag ourselves out of the ashes of World War 2 and at the same time introduce the NHS, the Welfare state and develop a nuclear bomb.
Constantly cutting the tax take has had its effect.
Are you depressed? Suffering from lack of self esteem or loss of confidence?
If you REALLY think that the UK is approaching third world status and that we have no money then if one of the above does not apply then you are simply deluded.
Have you ever been to a genuine third world nation? If you had then you would know what arrant nonsense you spout. If you have then you are being disingenuous, or one of the conditions at the start must surely apply.
The UK is the fifth richest economy on the planet, the ninth largest industrial nation and has an influence and affect globally. We are THE financial hub of the world and are a key member of every global 'club' that you care to mention in economic, military and intelligence terms.
I recently travelled from New York to London, flying on a wonderful A380 which was over 60% British built in content, arriving at Heathrow, where I entered through an auto passport scanner, ordered a Uber from the terminal, was picked up in 6 minutes, travelled to West London in 15 minutes, then went into Central London on the Tube, walked down Whitehall, sat in a wonderful office for half a day with views of the new and the historic, travelled back to West London on the tube, then drove out to Oxfordshire on the M40, stayed in Oxford, travelled back to London on the train from the new Oxford station and was in Marylebone in about half an hour, in the centre again in 15 minutes, leaving at the end of the day by Thameslink to my final destination.
If you think that you can do any of that in that manner in the third world then you ARE deluded.
You DO have a point in terms of lack of investment and underfunding though. In 1950 income tax was at 50%, the equivalent of Corporation tax was at the same rate and we as a nation managed to drag ourselves out of the ashes of World War 2 and at the same time introduce the NHS, the Welfare state and develop a nuclear bomb.
Constantly cutting the tax take has had its effect.
Martin
you sum it up perfectly
if you are have some decent disposable income in UK it isnt a bad place at all. If you are rich it is wonderful since you can avoid paying tax on most of your income and enjoy all the good things about the UK
If you are Joe Public with no growth in wages for years , declining public services, failing infrastructure its not third world but ti is along way from what first world is supposed to mean.
But the truth inescapably is a lot of things are broken and need fixing and I am afraid nuclear weapons are luxury we cannot afford especially as they are under US control anyway.
To sum it up with a personal experience my daughter was told by here optician she had a small spot or growth at the back of her eye. probably Ok but if malignant she loses the eye. NHS- referral you get a letter in response saying they will be in touch but estimate 18 weeks before she can get an appointment. I can fortunately pay for a private consultation , see specialist inside 3 days and told all is OK.
Can such a gap ever be justifiable when its the same bunch of doctors operating from the same premises. And I live in Surrey-hardly Britain's most deprived area. And incidentally a very military part of Surrey and I think we are lucky to have the dedicated armed forces we do but from reading this site and others they are also regularly subjected to redundancy poor equipment political interference and penny pinching. I think scrapping the nukes would allow us to have a properly trained and equipped military force suitable for today's smaller scale wars and the money saved should be split between improving NHS and emergency services and the military . Incidentally including pensions as a cost for the government is very misleading as most of us pensioners paid in all our life for a state pension and that is not something that can just be treated as a cost since huge contributions were and are made directly from the public for it.
you sum it up perfectly
if you are have some decent disposable income in UK it isnt a bad place at all. If you are rich it is wonderful since you can avoid paying tax on most of your income and enjoy all the good things about the UK
If you are Joe Public with no growth in wages for years , declining public services, failing infrastructure its not third world but ti is along way from what first world is supposed to mean.
But the truth inescapably is a lot of things are broken and need fixing and I am afraid nuclear weapons are luxury we cannot afford especially as they are under US control anyway.
To sum it up with a personal experience my daughter was told by here optician she had a small spot or growth at the back of her eye. probably Ok but if malignant she loses the eye. NHS- referral you get a letter in response saying they will be in touch but estimate 18 weeks before she can get an appointment. I can fortunately pay for a private consultation , see specialist inside 3 days and told all is OK.
Can such a gap ever be justifiable when its the same bunch of doctors operating from the same premises. And I live in Surrey-hardly Britain's most deprived area. And incidentally a very military part of Surrey and I think we are lucky to have the dedicated armed forces we do but from reading this site and others they are also regularly subjected to redundancy poor equipment political interference and penny pinching. I think scrapping the nukes would allow us to have a properly trained and equipped military force suitable for today's smaller scale wars and the money saved should be split between improving NHS and emergency services and the military . Incidentally including pensions as a cost for the government is very misleading as most of us pensioners paid in all our life for a state pension and that is not something that can just be treated as a cost since huge contributions were and are made directly from the public for it.
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Martin makes a very valid point as does pb - the only issue is that if we scarp Trident there is no guarantee th cash would stay witth the military - it could just as easily go on bus passes
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pr00ne,
IMHO, the strength of the UK (and some developed countries) is not in the travel scenario you described, but in the fact that the majority of the (UK) population can afford that (except for the office near Whitehall, of course :-) as well as other good things offered by modern civilization.
General "travel attributes" you mentioned are now often available in the 3rd world. E.g., one may arrive in a similar aircraft in Kuala-Lumpur (Malaysia), which airport is, by the way, usually ranked much higher than any European one, take a fast train to the downtown and then enjoy yourself in a pool on a roof of a 5 star hotel with a view on famous twin towers and green parks at 25-30% of the cost of similar accommodation in Europe.The same in Bangkok (though taking taxi, but no queue and fast toll road). But considering that UK people make 60 mln travels abroad per year (with population of 65.5 mln) this means about 1 trip per person per year on average. And what percentage of Malaysians or Thai people can afford trips abroad, even with travel distance like between UK and Spain (the most popular destination for UK citizens)? 1-digit percent, I suppose.
There is another statistics, however: how do people percept all this? We all can see some rich people around us who suffer from depression and are totally unhappy. There is interesting statistics about happiness, which is measured by some aggregated metrics (not just "a warm gun" :-) :
http://worldhappiness.report/wp-cont...17/03/HR17.pdf
There (p.22), UK is in 19th place (of 155) but Costa Rica (!) is in 12th, and some other Latin American folks are ranked close to UK. Surprisingly Japan is in 51-st place.
It's all relative...
IMHO, the strength of the UK (and some developed countries) is not in the travel scenario you described, but in the fact that the majority of the (UK) population can afford that (except for the office near Whitehall, of course :-) as well as other good things offered by modern civilization.
General "travel attributes" you mentioned are now often available in the 3rd world. E.g., one may arrive in a similar aircraft in Kuala-Lumpur (Malaysia), which airport is, by the way, usually ranked much higher than any European one, take a fast train to the downtown and then enjoy yourself in a pool on a roof of a 5 star hotel with a view on famous twin towers and green parks at 25-30% of the cost of similar accommodation in Europe.The same in Bangkok (though taking taxi, but no queue and fast toll road). But considering that UK people make 60 mln travels abroad per year (with population of 65.5 mln) this means about 1 trip per person per year on average. And what percentage of Malaysians or Thai people can afford trips abroad, even with travel distance like between UK and Spain (the most popular destination for UK citizens)? 1-digit percent, I suppose.
There is another statistics, however: how do people percept all this? We all can see some rich people around us who suffer from depression and are totally unhappy. There is interesting statistics about happiness, which is measured by some aggregated metrics (not just "a warm gun" :-) :
http://worldhappiness.report/wp-cont...17/03/HR17.pdf
There (p.22), UK is in 19th place (of 155) but Costa Rica (!) is in 12th, and some other Latin American folks are ranked close to UK. Surprisingly Japan is in 51-st place.
It's all relative...
NaB - but that 5Bn pa would fund a lot of the NHS, provide infrastructure projects and help a lot of people not in proones lucky world - I inhabit that same world but recognise I am one of the very fortunate ones.
Proone - done similar trips but now try to commute on the M3, M25, M6, M62 or God forbid, Southern Rail, try to get a doctor's appointment to fit in with your working commitments, try to save for a mortgage when your landlord is demanding the moon on a stick for your rent, try to spend less than 4 hour in an A&E department for a broken ankle, try to get routine surgery in less than 6 months, try to get a council house as an ex- mil veteran of Afghan who has been forced out of the Army - then tell me just how 1st world we really are.
The Lib Dems were the only party to be up front about tax - if we want to fix the country we have to pay for it - all of us, not just the Trostky's enemies earning over £80K. if we don't want to pay the tax then we have to get rid of things we can't afford and I agree that foreign aid is a good place to start.
One massive problem is the cost of public service pensions which is what cripples the NHS and most councils - I like a few here get a comfortable military pension and now pay into a company scheme where my employer matches my 6% salary sacrifice - the equivalent public sector pension has the taxpayer providing 25% and we wonder why it is so unaffordable.
Proone - done similar trips but now try to commute on the M3, M25, M6, M62 or God forbid, Southern Rail, try to get a doctor's appointment to fit in with your working commitments, try to save for a mortgage when your landlord is demanding the moon on a stick for your rent, try to spend less than 4 hour in an A&E department for a broken ankle, try to get routine surgery in less than 6 months, try to get a council house as an ex- mil veteran of Afghan who has been forced out of the Army - then tell me just how 1st world we really are.
The Lib Dems were the only party to be up front about tax - if we want to fix the country we have to pay for it - all of us, not just the Trostky's enemies earning over £80K. if we don't want to pay the tax then we have to get rid of things we can't afford and I agree that foreign aid is a good place to start.
One massive problem is the cost of public service pensions which is what cripples the NHS and most councils - I like a few here get a comfortable military pension and now pay into a company scheme where my employer matches my 6% salary sacrifice - the equivalent public sector pension has the taxpayer providing 25% and we wonder why it is so unaffordable.
As for being depressed - no but I am bloody disenchanted with all our politicians of all flavours who just constantly f**k things up in the name of dogma and party loyalties.
...travelled back to London on the train from the new Oxford station and was in Marylebone in about half an hour...
No doubt you noted the appalling third world nature of Oxonian roads as you drove into the city? Years of neglect and underfunding...
That £5Bn pa (in the ten year production phase only, thereafter £1.5Bn pa), represents less than 4% of the annual NHS budget - or two weeks running if you want to put it that way.
Point on pensions is well made - but I suspect that comes out of the £250Bn welfare pot, not NHS running budget - although happy to be corrected.
Point being we cannot keep funding what is in effect an unconstrained demand for "goodies" (pensions, healthcare, degree education for all) - particularly not on the backs of 5% of the population. There is a complete reluctance to address this - immediately accompanied by platitudes about "our NHS", "rights to free higher education etc".
People are living much longer, more complex (and expensive) treatments are available, population is increasing etc etc and yet any attempt to make anyone other than "the rich" pay for this is treated as an outrage, let alone questioning whether fully tax-funded is the right model any more. The French and German healthcare systems usually quoted as the exemplars of what the NHS aspire to are rarely noted as having a significant chunk of personal contributions.
Point on pensions is well made - but I suspect that comes out of the £250Bn welfare pot, not NHS running budget - although happy to be corrected.
Point being we cannot keep funding what is in effect an unconstrained demand for "goodies" (pensions, healthcare, degree education for all) - particularly not on the backs of 5% of the population. There is a complete reluctance to address this - immediately accompanied by platitudes about "our NHS", "rights to free higher education etc".
People are living much longer, more complex (and expensive) treatments are available, population is increasing etc etc and yet any attempt to make anyone other than "the rich" pay for this is treated as an outrage, let alone questioning whether fully tax-funded is the right model any more. The French and German healthcare systems usually quoted as the exemplars of what the NHS aspire to are rarely noted as having a significant chunk of personal contributions.
NaB - agreed but that money would at least help the NHS stand still rather than falling further and further behind each year as the 'extra' money given by politicians doesn't account for the increasing demands of a growing and ageing population.
Agreed about the 'outrage' - as I said we can have the country we want as long as we are prepared to pay for it. None of our lily-livered politicians is prepared to make that policy because the great British unwashed will always vote for what directly affects their personal circumstances rather than what is good for the country - perhaps because we lack a leader with the ability to sell it properly.
Agreed about the 'outrage' - as I said we can have the country we want as long as we are prepared to pay for it. None of our lily-livered politicians is prepared to make that policy because the great British unwashed will always vote for what directly affects their personal circumstances rather than what is good for the country - perhaps because we lack a leader with the ability to sell it properly.
Thread Starter
Some food for thought.
Yesterday I got a train into town, and to use a bit of time I had a cup of tea in the station cafe - cost £1.75. Whilst drinking it I looked at a parliamentry paper on the Dreadnought class SSBN.
The £2.2bn spent on maintaining the nuclear deterrent per year is roughly equivalent to £41m per week, or around £33 per person per year.
Makes you think...
Yesterday I got a train into town, and to use a bit of time I had a cup of tea in the station cafe - cost £1.75. Whilst drinking it I looked at a parliamentry paper on the Dreadnought class SSBN.
The £2.2bn spent on maintaining the nuclear deterrent per year is roughly equivalent to £41m per week, or around £33 per person per year.
Makes you think...
Last edited by WE Branch Fanatic; 5th Oct 2017 at 22:44.
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Some food for thought.
Yesterday I got a train into town, and to use a bit of time I had a cup of tea on the station cafe - cost £1.75. Whilst drinking it I looked at a parliamentry paper on the Dreadnought class SSBN.
The £2.2bn spent on maintaining the nuclear deterrent per year is roughly equivalent to £41m per week, or around £33 per person per year.
Makes you think...
Yesterday I got a train into town, and to use a bit of time I had a cup of tea on the station cafe - cost £1.75. Whilst drinking it I looked at a parliamentry paper on the Dreadnought class SSBN.
The £2.2bn spent on maintaining the nuclear deterrent per year is roughly equivalent to £41m per week, or around £33 per person per year.
Makes you think...
Indeed... and well put but we need politicians to point that out, papers and media to support it. We're just shouting in the wilderness TBH
Talking about public ignorance...
Why were these three planes spotted flying in formation over Cornwall last night? - Cornwall Live
Was Russian bomber intercepted by RAF flying over Cornwall | Daily Mail Online
And of course, some of the comments are a joy to behold...
Why were these three planes spotted flying in formation over Cornwall last night? - Cornwall Live
Was Russian bomber intercepted by RAF flying over Cornwall | Daily Mail Online
And of course, some of the comments are a joy to behold...
Unfortunately we live in a society, and are led by a political class, which for the most part knows lots about cost but with little appreciation for value or understanding beyond the veneer of media headlines. This is but one example; comments on public sector pay and pensions are another. And there is little scrutiny of the arguments, just a Pavlovian agreement by those in positions of authority aiming to shore their position.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Defence chief Tony Douglas jumps ship and ‘leaves MoD in chaos’
The man in charge of buying Britain’s jets and warships is quitting after claims that his department is in chaos and struggling with rising costs.
Tony Douglas, one of the highest-earning civil servants with a pay packet of about £500,000, will leave the Ministry of Defence at the end of the year to become head of Etihad Aviation Group, which is based in Abu Dhabi. His departure from Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), after two years as chief executive and seven months before his contract’s renewal, was met with regret by Sir Michael Fallon, the defence secretary. The department is now trying to find a replacement. “This is considered to be very bad form for somebody to walk away when it gets too difficult,” a source said. “The department is in chaos.”
Whitehall and military chiefs have been working on a review aimed at tackling a £20 billion to £30 billion shortfall in the defence budget over the next decade. DE&S must find more than £3 billion in savings as part of it, a challenge that insiders say is not being met. The department has also had to deal with the fall in sterling, which has pushed up the cost of equipment overseas. Sources claimed that Mr Douglas had been unhappy that the government had given responsibility for the construction of submarines to another agency.
“Tony has got a good job to go to, but he went out and got one because he could not stand the heat in the kitchen,” a senior defence industry source said. “He has left a rudderless, directionless and leaderless organisation.” Francis Tusa, editor of the Defence Analysis newsletter, said: “There is no positive spin you can put on this.” An MoD source disagreed, saying that Mr Douglas had left to go to his “dream job”, adding: “Not everything is a conspiracy.”
Mr Douglas, who was chief executive of Abu Dhabi airport before taking up his role at the MoD, said it had been a difficult decision to resign. “We have made very real progress on project delivery and transformation,” he said. “My decision has been made easier by the knowledge that it will remain in capable hands. I have decided to leave because I have been offered a compelling opportunity in the private sector and in an industry, unconnected with defence, which I know well.”
Sir Michael said: “I am personally very grateful for the help and support Tony has provided to me personally and been very impressed by the significant progress he has achieved in his time with the MoD. We will be sorry to lose him. I am confident that the momentum he has generated will be maintained by his executive team.”
Behind the story
The Ministry of Defence is in a bit of a mess (Sources claimed that Mr Douglas had been unhappy that the government had given responsibility for the construction of submarines to another agency.
“Tony has got a good job to go to, but he went out and got one because he could not stand the heat in the kitchen,” a senior defence industry source said. “He has left a rudderless, directionless and leaderless organisation.”
Francis Tusa, editor of the Defence Analysis newsletter, said: “There is no positive spin you can put on this.”
An MoD source disagreed, saying that Mr Douglas had left to go to his “dream job”, adding: “Not everything is a conspiracy.”
Mr Douglas, who was chief executive of Abu Dhabi airport before taking up his role at the MoD, said it had been a difficult decision to resign.
“We have made very real progress on project delivery and transformation,” he said. “My decision has been made easier by the knowledge that it will remain in capable hands.
“I have decided to leave because I have been offered a compelling opportunity in the private sector and in an industry, unconnected with defence, which I know well.”
Sir Michael said: “I am personally very grateful for the help and support Tony has provided to me personally and been very impressed by the significant progress he has achieved in his time with the MoD.
“We will be sorry to lose him. I am confident that the momentum he has generated will be maintained by his executive team.”....."
The man in charge of buying Britain’s jets and warships is quitting after claims that his department is in chaos and struggling with rising costs.
Tony Douglas, one of the highest-earning civil servants with a pay packet of about £500,000, will leave the Ministry of Defence at the end of the year to become head of Etihad Aviation Group, which is based in Abu Dhabi. His departure from Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S), after two years as chief executive and seven months before his contract’s renewal, was met with regret by Sir Michael Fallon, the defence secretary. The department is now trying to find a replacement. “This is considered to be very bad form for somebody to walk away when it gets too difficult,” a source said. “The department is in chaos.”
Whitehall and military chiefs have been working on a review aimed at tackling a £20 billion to £30 billion shortfall in the defence budget over the next decade. DE&S must find more than £3 billion in savings as part of it, a challenge that insiders say is not being met. The department has also had to deal with the fall in sterling, which has pushed up the cost of equipment overseas. Sources claimed that Mr Douglas had been unhappy that the government had given responsibility for the construction of submarines to another agency.
“Tony has got a good job to go to, but he went out and got one because he could not stand the heat in the kitchen,” a senior defence industry source said. “He has left a rudderless, directionless and leaderless organisation.” Francis Tusa, editor of the Defence Analysis newsletter, said: “There is no positive spin you can put on this.” An MoD source disagreed, saying that Mr Douglas had left to go to his “dream job”, adding: “Not everything is a conspiracy.”
Mr Douglas, who was chief executive of Abu Dhabi airport before taking up his role at the MoD, said it had been a difficult decision to resign. “We have made very real progress on project delivery and transformation,” he said. “My decision has been made easier by the knowledge that it will remain in capable hands. I have decided to leave because I have been offered a compelling opportunity in the private sector and in an industry, unconnected with defence, which I know well.”
Sir Michael said: “I am personally very grateful for the help and support Tony has provided to me personally and been very impressed by the significant progress he has achieved in his time with the MoD. We will be sorry to lose him. I am confident that the momentum he has generated will be maintained by his executive team.”
Behind the story
The Ministry of Defence is in a bit of a mess (Sources claimed that Mr Douglas had been unhappy that the government had given responsibility for the construction of submarines to another agency.
“Tony has got a good job to go to, but he went out and got one because he could not stand the heat in the kitchen,” a senior defence industry source said. “He has left a rudderless, directionless and leaderless organisation.”
Francis Tusa, editor of the Defence Analysis newsletter, said: “There is no positive spin you can put on this.”
An MoD source disagreed, saying that Mr Douglas had left to go to his “dream job”, adding: “Not everything is a conspiracy.”
Mr Douglas, who was chief executive of Abu Dhabi airport before taking up his role at the MoD, said it had been a difficult decision to resign.
“We have made very real progress on project delivery and transformation,” he said. “My decision has been made easier by the knowledge that it will remain in capable hands.
“I have decided to leave because I have been offered a compelling opportunity in the private sector and in an industry, unconnected with defence, which I know well.”
Sir Michael said: “I am personally very grateful for the help and support Tony has provided to me personally and been very impressed by the significant progress he has achieved in his time with the MoD.
“We will be sorry to lose him. I am confident that the momentum he has generated will be maintained by his executive team.”....."
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A very wise man.................. crunch time coming up, no money available and just a load of brown stuff about to hit the fan.......
and a nice job in the Gulf, NOT paid in sterling presumably........... and a million miles from feuding Tories and Comrade Corbyn.......
and a nice job in the Gulf, NOT paid in sterling presumably........... and a million miles from feuding Tories and Comrade Corbyn.......